Russian occupation forces do not have full control over one of these cities.
John Kirby, the coordinator of the National Security Council for Strategic Communications of the White House, stated during a telephone briefing that on January 18, 2023, brutal fighting continued in the Soledar and Bakhmut regions of the Donetsk region. Russian occupation forces do not have full control over one of these cities.
“I will tell you that as of this morning, we do not assess that they (Russian military – ed.) have actually taken over both cities unilaterally,” Ukrinform quoted Kirby as saying.
The representative of the White House emphasized that “brutal fighting is taking place” in this area of Donbas, especially near Soledar. There, according to the US, control over the territory remains disputed.
In addition, Kirby noted that while the Russian occupiers have made gradual progress in recent days, it has come at a high cost. Invading troops are actually throwing bodies at Ukrainian positions. He added that these efforts are mostly led by Yevgeny Prigozhin and his PMK “Wagner” with some involvement of the Russian military.
The coordinator of the National Security Council added that “Prygozhin wants to be considered more relevant and indispensable on the battlefield” than the armed forces of the Russian Federation. Kirby also noted that because of this, there is tension between the Russian Ministry of Defense and the mercenaries of Prigozhin’s “Wagner” PMC.
Battles for Soledar and Bakhmut
On January 18, it was reported that border guards stopped the invaders’ attempt to break through to Bakhmut. Several enemy groups tried to bypass the stronghold of the Ukrainian defenders.
Near Soledar in Donetsk region, Ukrainian servicemen destroyed a Russian SU-25 attack aircraft. The plane was shot down on January 17 at around 3:20 p.m.
In addition, commandos of the Special Operations Center “A” of the SBU made hell for the occupiers near Bakhmut.
